Rotary engine.



Patented Aug, 24, 1909.

(a) I w P. TOMPKINS. ROTARY ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR.20, 1909.

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P. TOMPKINS.

ROTARY ENGINE. APPLIGATION FILED MAR. 20, 1909.

93 1 ,900. Patented Aug. 24, 1909.

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INVENTOH WITNESSES:

ATTORNEYS FRANKLIN TOMPKINS, OF DORP, NEW YORK.

ROTARY ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. March 20, 1909.

Patented Aug. .24, 1909.

Serial No. 484,609.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN TOMPKINS, a citizen of the United States, and residing at New Dorp, Staten Island, in the county of Richmond and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Pumps and Engines, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to rotary pumps and engines; and the object thereof is to provide an improved device or apparatus of this class adapted to serve either as a pump or engine, and which is simple in construction and operation and may be conveniently managed or manipulated and with this and other objects in view the invention consists in a device of the class specified constructed as hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which;-

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of the complete apparatus with part of the con struction removed, the section being on the line a:ac of Fig. 2, Fig. 2 aview looking in the direction of the arrow :0 of Fig. 1 and showing the complete apparatus with part of the construction broken away, Fig. 3 a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing only the body of the pump or engine, and showing the cover thereof removed, Fig. 4 an inside view of said cover, Fig. 5 asectional view of a valve device forming part of my invention, and two of which are employed, the section being on the line 55 of Fig. 2, Fig. 6 a sectional side view of a radially movable piston blade, the section being on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3, Fig. 7 a section on the line 77 of Fig. 6, Fig. 8 a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6, Fig. 9, a section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 6,

' and ;-Fig. 10 a side view of a piston plate packing, two of which are employed in the piston plate shown in Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive.

In the practice of my invention, I provide a casing a which is open at the front and provided with a cover a and'said casing is composed of two approximately circular parts a as shown in Fig: 3 in which are circuar chambers a which are placed in communication as shown at a and'the casing a is provided centrally of the top thereof with a tubular coupling a adapted to serve both as an inlet and outlet under certain conditions, and at the bottom thereof with a similar tubular coupling a adapted to serve both as an inlet and outlet.

Mounted eccentricallyin the parts a of the casing a are shafts b which are nearer the center line of the casing on than to the outer side walls thereof, and around these shafts the back and front walls 0, of the casing c are provided with grooves b which are eccentric to the shafts b but concentric to the centers of the parts a of the casing a.

One of the shafts b is extended at the back of the casing a as shown at b in Fig. 1, and is provided'with a drive wheel b by means of which power may be transmitted'for any desired purpose. The shafts b are provided with piston heads 0 which are preferably formed integral therewith and which are provided with radially arranged gear members c in which are mounted radially movable piston blades (1. The radially arranged gear members 0 are slotted radially as shown at 0 and these slots extend inwardly into the piston heads 0, and the radially movable piston blades d, are provided at their inner ends with extensions d adapted to enter corres onding recesses d in the shafts b or in t e central parts of the radially movable piston heads 0 when said heads are formed integral with said shafts.

The radially movable piston blades (Z are also provided at the ends thereof and at their inner corners with tenons d on which are mounted anti-friction rollers (Z and these tenons d with the rollers d are movable in the grooves b in the back wall and front a of the casing a, and in the operation of the pump or engine as hereinafter described, the blades (1 are moved radially by the tenons (1 operating in the grooves W.

The blades (1 are made as shown in Figs. ('3 to 9 inclusive, said blades being provided with a central recess or chamber (l which opens outwardly and with side grooves d, and the parts (i of said blades which separate the recess or chamber d and the grooves d are provided with spring chambers d and the said parts (1 are provided in their outer faces with recesses d in the same plane as the recess or chamber (1 Placed in the blades d thus formed are two similar packing plates (2, one of which is shown in Fig. 10, and these plates consist of a central body portion 6 adapted to enter the recess or chamber cl and provided at their outer' a space 6 and in the outer part of the body portion of the plate 6 is an opening a. In practice, two of these plates are laced together as shown in Figs. 6 to 7 inc usive, the arm 6 of one plate being on one side of the blade, and the arm e of the other plate on the opposite side of the blade, and these packing plates are forced outwardly by means of springs e placed in the spring chambers d and laterally by means of a spring 6 placed in the recesses or openings e, and the acking plates 6 are secured in said blades y pins 6 passed through openings 6 in said plates, said openings being large enough to permit of the requisite movement of the packing plates both inwardly and outwardly and laterally, and by means of this construction the outer face of the piston blades (Z which bear on the outer walls of the chambers 60* in the casing a are securely packed as are also the radial faces thereof which bear on the back and front walls of said casing.

Connected with the coupling a at the top of the casing a is an elbow coupling f, and a similar elbow cou ling g is connected with the bottom coup ing a Connected with the elbow coupling f is a three way valve casing h, and a similar three way valve casing 71 is connected with the elbow coupling g, and the valve casing i is shown in section in Fig. 5, and the valve casing h which is of the same form as the valve casing i is provided with an exhaust port 7L2, and a steam admis sion port its on the side of the valve casing h diametrically opposite to the exhaust port 7L2, and the valve casing '11 is provided with an exhaust opening or port 2' and with a steam admission port 71 located diametrically opposite to the exhaust port i in the valve casing i, and the valve casings h and t' are each provided with a valve j having a two way opening j therein, the two ways j and j of which meet at a right angle as plainly shown in the sectional view in Fig. 5, and these two valves 3' in the two casings h and i are exactly alike and connected together by a valve rod j and adapted to be operated simultaneously by a valve wheel j, and the two valves j are so related with respect to one another that a plan view of one would coincide with the plan View of the other.

As shown in Fig. 1, the ports of the valve casings 7L and i communicating respectively with the elbow couplings f and 9 lie in the same vertical plane; and as shown in Fig. 2, the exhaust and steam admission ports 7L2 and 7L3 of the valve 7b lie in the same vertical plane with the admission and exhaust ports i and i of the valve casing t, andthe exhaust port if of the valve casing h is directly above the admission port 2' of the valve 1', and the admission port 72/ of the valve casing h is directly above the exhaust port i of the valve casing "I.

The admission port 72 of the valve casing h is in communication through the elbows h and h and h and pipes k 7c, h and 72 and a T-coupling h with a steam supply 7r, and the steam admission port i of the valve casing t is in communication through an elbow i and pipes i and i and the T-coupling lbs with the same steam supply 76; and the steam supply 7: is controlled by a valve 76 By turning the valve wheel 7', the valves 7' will take similar positions, the position for the valve in the casingt' being shown in Fig.

5, and the flow of steam from the supply pipe 7r: will pass into the valve casing i through the admission port i through the valve j into the elbow pipe 9 and into the rotary pump or engine, thus operating the same and passing out through the elbow casing h through the other valve 9' and out through the exhaust port 7L2, and this as will be seen, operates the rotary engine to turn the wheel Ir in one direction. By again turning the valve j through an angle of 90,

the valve'ways y' and 9' of the valve casing i will be brought into communication respectively with the exhaust port 2' and the elbow pipe g, and the other valve 7' will be turned pipe f into the valve i .1

through the same angle and the flow of steam will be from the supply 70 into the admission port 7L3 of the valve 72.- through the elbow pipe f and the coupling a into the rotary engine or pump, thus operating the same and passing therefrom through the coupling a and the elbow pipe 9 into the valve casing i and out at the exhaust port 2' thereof, and this as will be understood, will reverse the pump or engine.

The operation of this apparatus will be similar to that of others of its class, and especially similar to the construction described and claimed in U. S. Letters Patent granted to me on the 2nd day of March, 1909,

No. 913,927 except as to the details of the construction described and claimed herein, and the operation thereof which constitute the subject matter of this invention and are set out in the appended claims.

This apparatus may be used for any of the purposes to which such apparatus are usually devoted, and changes therein and modifications thereof may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is1- 1. A pump or engine of the class described, comprising a main casing composed of two cylindrical parts, said parts being provided with circular chambers which are in communication, and said casing being also provided at the top and bottom thereof and centrally thereof With couplings forming inlet and outlet ports, shafts mounted eccentrically in each part of said casing and nearer the communication between said parts than the opposite sides thereof, the back and front of the casing being also provided with circular grooves which are concentric to the centers of said parts of the casing and eccentric to said shafts, said shafts being also provided with piston heads having radial arms, and radially movable piston blades mounted in said arms, said piston blades being provided with members movable in said grooves, three way valve casings connected with the inlet and outlet ports at the top and bottom of the main casing, a main steam supply pipe, branch pipes or couplings connected with the main steam supply pipe and with said valve casings, other pipes or couplings connected with said valve casings and with the top and bottom inlet and outlet ports of the main casing, two way valves mounted in said valve casings, and a single valve operating rod passing through said valve casings and with which said valves are connected.

2. In a rotary pump or engine, a main casing comprising two approximately circular parts having circular chambers which are in communication, said main casing being also provided with top and bottom inlet and outlet ports, three way valve casings connected with said inlet and outlet ports, two way valves mounted in said valve casings, and a single valve operating rod passingthrough said valve casings and adapted to operate said valves.

3. In a rotary pump or engine, a casing, a shaft eccentrically mounted therein, said shaft being provided with a rotary piston head having radial arms, radially movable blades mounted in said arms, the front and back of the casing being provided with circular grooves concentric to said casing, and eccentric to said shaft, and said blades being provided with members which are movable in said grooves, said blades being also provided with packing plates or devices which are mounted therein and radially and laterally movable, and springs for forcing said packing plates or devices in both directions.

4. A pump or engine of the class described, comprising a casing, a shaft eccentrically mounted therein, the front and back of the casing being provided with annular grooves concentric to said casing and eccentric to said shaft, said shaft being also provided with a piston head having radial arms, and

radially movable piston blades mounted in said arms and provided with radially and laterally movable spring operated packing devices.

5. In a rotary pump or engine, a main casing comprising two approximately semicircular parts having circular chambers which are in communication, said main casing being also provided with top and bottom couplings adapted to serve both as inlet and outlet ports, three way valve casings connected with said couplings, valves mounted in said valve casings, and a single valve rod passing through said casings and adapted to operate both of said valves, substantially as shown and described.

6. In a pump or engine, the combination with a casing composed of two cylindrical parts and having concentric grooves, of a head with corresponding grooves, inlet and outlet pipes at the meeting point of the two cylindrical parts, eccentrically located shafts, slotted inter-meshing wheels on the shafts, pistons working in the slots of the wheels and valves with a common stem working in the inlet and outlet pipes to reverse the flow of the fluid.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of the subscribing witnesses this 19th day of March 1909.

FRANKLIN TOMPKINS.

itnesses H. R. CANFIELD, O. E. MULREANY. 

